Jeff.....Try and figure out the best way to go about getting this thing off the ground. I have already talked with TU and a chapter of FFF and they have indicated they would get behind it.
I was just going to take it easy and see what AZG&F had to say about it before I started anything but since you have jumped on it...let's get it rolling.
I beleive once AZG&F sees how much use a good trophy fishery would get there would be many more opportunities come up for future projects. One step at a time, though.

dub

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky

In order to do everything legal for a non profit it will be at least $1,000 to get non profit status from the IRS. If you want to be a not for profit corporation that is much less costly. The not for profit can't accept or offer charitable contributions.

These costs are assuming someone will set up the corporation and fill out the 1045 application for free. There are quite a few other items that would need to be done.

You will need articles, by-laws, a policy for non discrimination and provide any flyers or hand outs as part of the application process.

Dub & Lucky:

I've sent an email to the officers of the Henry's Lake Foundation asking for thier assistance and input on creating a similar foundation here in AZ. These are good folks and I believe they will be happy to help us get going in the right direction. I'll keep everyone informed once I hear back.

Lets keep the input and comments coming. Hey Seldomseen, can we get this thread as a Sticky on the General Discussions forum? Thanks.

In order to do everything legal for a non profit it will be at least $1,000 to get non profit status from the IRS. If you want to be a not for profit corporation that is much less costly. The not for profit can't accept or offer charitable contributions.

These costs are assuming someone will set up the corporation and fill out the 1045 application for free. There are quite a few other items that would need to be done.

You will need articles, by-laws, a policy for non discrimination and provide any flyers or hand outs as part of the application process.

My father in law is an accountant. I could probably get him to donate his time for some yard work.

I am happy to report that I received a quick reply from the president of the Henry's Lake Foundation - Mr. Phil Barker. Here is what he had to say;

"Jeff -I can certainly help advise you on what works for us. The key to getting started is to file articles of incorporation in AZ for a non-profit 503(c) corporation. It is very straight forward. From there you need to create the bylaws. Again there are some great resources on the web that will describe what needs to be a part of the bylaws. Once you have those together you need to elect some officers and board members. You may already have those persons identified as part of who will sign the articles of incorporation and drive that process. From there you simply need to hold annual membership meetings and election of officers and directors. We do it as part of our annual picnic. We periodically hold board meetings as needed to evaluate project opportunities, approvals for funding and membership statuses.

As far as pitfalls, we haven't had too many. I think the key is your directors and their motivation. There are a also few administrative things that are important. You need to fill a tax return and an annual report. They are both very straight forward.

Just let me know what else you need and I would be glad to respond.

Regards,
Phil Barker
President, Henrys Lake Foundation"

First; I think Dub should attend his meeting with the AZG&F, listen to what they have to say and then ask them about thier willingness to work with a AZ based organization similar to the Henry's Lake Foundation.

Second; assuming that AZG&F would be willing to partner with us, then we need to make a decision regarding our focus. Do we want to focus our efforts on one lake (i.e. Crescent) or broaden the scope to include more of a regional approach. As you know, I vote for one lake so we don't get spread to thin in the beginning - just my 2-cents.

Third; get started on the paperwork (i.e. non-profit 503(c) corporation, bylaws, etc). I believe we could find several qualified legal minds that would help us get the paperwork done properly.

Sounds like we are off and running. I am going to let Kirk Young do his thing and work me into his schedule. If I don't hear back soon, I will contact him and remind him of our proposed meeting, but I know he has a lot on his plate right now.
I suggest we not limit ourselves on the overall scope of this plan but limit it to Crescent initially. The way we write up the bylaws can be inclusive of a lot of the WM waters but make Crescent our focus for now. I still plan to include tribal waters. Sunrise is actually as good a lake to work on (if not even better). It also has tremendous potential with a ready made watre source that is just broken for now. I still haven't heard anything from them on this yet.
I met Phil on the lake this past summer. He was fishing the Duck Creek area along with Ron Slocum. Seemed like a nice guy when we talked with him on the water.

Sounds like we are off and running. I am going to let Kirk Young do his thing and work me into his schedule. If I don't hear back soon, I will contact him and remind him of our proposed meeting, but I know he has a lot on his plate right now.
I suggest we not limit ourselves on the overall scope of this plan but limit it to Crescent initially. The way we write up the bylaws can be inclusive of a lot of the WM waters but make Crescent our focus for now. I still plan to include tribal waters. Sunrise is actually as good a lake to work on (if not even better). It also has tremendous potential with a ready made watre source that is just broken for now. I still haven't heard anything from them on this yet.
I met Phil on the lake this past summer. He was fishing the Duck Creek area along with Ron Slocum. Seemed like a nice guy when we talked with him on the water.

dub

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dub

Thanks for jumping on this, Jeff. I suggest you would be perfect for the president of this (hopefully upcoming) group.

dub

Dub:

Great ideas on how to write the by-laws. It doesn't matter to me what lake we start with and I like the opportunity to expand our scope over time to improve the potential of many lakes. I also like Sunrise and think it could be absolutely fabulous - hopefully something permanent could be worked-out with the WMT Council.

As far as who is or is not president of this group, I think you've been sniffing too much of your simi dye lately